Walking for a cure: Stroll through Old Naples nets $45,000 for multiple sclerosis fund

LANCE SHEARER

4:53 PM, Feb 26, 2013

The marchers set out, starting at the finish line. (The other side of the arch says "Start.")
Lance Shearer/Citizen Correspondent

Walkers head north near the NCH Downtown Naples Hospital. Approximately 250 marched through Old Naples in Walk MS Saturday morning, raising money to help fight and fund research into multiple sclerosis.
Lance Shearer/Citizen Correspondent

Walk MS Chairman Lisa Osborne was pumped up before the walk started this past Saturday.
Lance Shearer/Citizen Correspondent

The Barron Collier High School JROTC provides a patriotic flair.
Lance Shearer/Citizen Correspondent

Saturday morning was a beautiful time for a walk in Old Naples. Among the solitary strollers and small gaggles of cyclists, you couldn’t miss one group. More than 250 rallied for a 5k walk down Gulfshore Boulevard, complete with a police escort, in Walk MS, to raise funds and awareness for multiple sclerosis.

Along with the funds, used to alleviate suffering and pay for research, the awareness is key for MS, a devastating and progressive disease that often does not have a high profile and level of understanding among the public.

“People don’t know what MS can do,” said Ian Russell, who watched his mother die from the disease. “She was very active, very vibrant, a nurse and an athlete. I saw her go to where she could hardly walk, couldn’t control her bowels, and we had to bathe her. When she died, she literally looked like a Holocaust victim.” Ian was 16 years old.

“There’s been a decline in awareness. People say, ‘Is it muscular dystrophy? Is it contagious?’” said Russell.

MS, which is not contagious, attacks the central nervous system, has many different symptoms and manifestations. Some who are diagnosed can live a very normal existence, while others suffer a range of problems including memory issues, abnormal fatigue and episodes of numbness and tingling. Others have loss of balance and muscle coordination making walking difficult, or slurred speech, tremors, stiffness and bladder problems.

Sometimes major symptoms disappear completely, and the person regains lost functions. In severe MS, people have symptoms on a permanent basis including partial or complete paralysis, and difficulties with vision, cognition, speech and elimination. More than two million have been diagnosed with MS.

But Saturday, the group who met at Lowdermilk Park along the beach, and set off down Gulfshore in a haphazard group of team T-shirts, strollers, dogs on leashes, and kids on bicycles were in a festive mood, knowing they were doing something to combat the disease, and enjoying the company of others who made the same commitment.

Some MS sufferers had very visible support groups helping them out. Kenny Fell was accompanied by 14 friends and family members, wearing matching “Team Kenny” shirts while walking and talking together. Walk MS Chairman Lisa Osborne, who raised $10,000 on her own for the cause, thanked the marchers and supporters before they headed out.

“We want to do this walk so we don’t have to keep having walks,” she said. “We walk to create a world free of MS, and every step brings us closer to a cure.” Osborne was at the walk with her brother Danny, who is also active in the fight against MS. Their mother has lived with the disease for 20 years, and Lisa Osborne lives with her parents to help with the caregiving. In all, Walk MS raised $45,000 for the fight, said organizers.

Naples City Councilman Sam Saad also addressed the group, and the Barron Collier High School JROTC color guard trooped the colors as the national anthem played to open the event. First Watch, across the street from the Lowdermilk Park entrance, supplied breakfast for the marchers, and organizations and companies offering related products set up booths to advertise their services.

“It’s almost like a big family,” National MS Society Southwest Florida President Karen Dresbach said of the community of volunteers. “It’s something that calls to you. We can make a big difference in people’s lives, and they need someone to make a difference.

“MS is a progressive disease that doesn’t go away. You need to know that there is an organization behind you. It’s not an easy journey. We help people with MS through every step in life.”

Ian Stewart said MS had gained some attention nationally during the presidential election campaign, when candidate Mitt Romney’s wife Ann was identified as suffering with the disease. The wife of the Eagles’ Don Henley, he said, is another high-profile multiple sclerosis sufferer, and it is only recently that many people have been willing to admit to having MS.

“They kept it a secret. They were afraid of losing their job,” said Stewart. “There has been a lot of progress.”

In addition to the Walk MS events being held throughout South Florida, the MS Society will hold a “Virtual Walk” on April 7, in which individuals or small groups can walk, on their own, wherever they find themselves.

They will also host a Gadgets and Gizmos Workshop with Susan Dorne at the Wellness Center of Cape Coral on March 15, 2013, at 10 a.m., and Dinner with the Doctor in Estero at Creekside Restaurant on June 4. To register for either of these events, call 1-800-FIGHTMS. For more information, go to mswalksouthflorida.org.